Can he do it? How quick can you make Pesto? Do you think you can make it as quick as Gennaro? Watch and find out. If you can, make a video and show him!

This is one of the easiest but luscious Italian sauces for a quick pasta dish, try it out, and get all the benefits of fresh basil’s unique health-protecting effects in two basic areas: basil’s flavonoids and volatile oils, making it anti-bacterial and anti-Inflammatory, protect cell structures as well as chromosomes from radiation and oxygen-based damage, and essential for cardiovascular health.

Basil is an excellent source of vitamin K and manganese; a very good source of copper, vitamin A (in the form of carotenoids such as beta-carotene), and vitamin C; and calcium, iron, folate, magnesium, as well as omega-3 fatty acids.

So let’s go for the basil, and this sauce packs lots of it into a delicious and easy recipe, which is even raw and vegan, as you will see in the video!

I don’t know about you, but I love to have grated lemon peel in my cakes, and so on. But I hate having to grate it every time I need it, especially if I’m in a bit of hurry, so… here we go, I’m sharing a few of my time-saving tips for having what you […]

The other day, my beloved 25 year old washing machine started loosing some water, which I saw trickling out on the floor. You know the feeling: oh, now what is it going to cost me? Will it repair, or is it the end? This, of course is especially true for this old and faithful machine. […]

Coffee actually isn’t as bad as we used to think, but it certainly has to be kept in line so it’s not drunk in harmful quantities. As in all things, a little goes a long way, too much is not good for your health. So how does one keep the coffee habit and yet stay […]

Ecogal is not a recipe blog, but changing your life to a healthier toxic-free living inevitably touches on how you shop for your food and how you then implement it in the kitchen. So here we go: a few tips to change basic habits in an easy way! Easy switch: standard white rice to organic […]

The answer is: yes, you can! It’s just a question of being smart and getting all the same benefits but in different ways, and here are a few of your quick and easy options: Replace the microwave with a smart oven The specialty of a smart oven is that it is big enough to actually […]

A colourful vegan curry, rich, wholesome and full of tasty goodness, this is an easy and healthy dish.

Free-runner extraordinaire Tim Shieff shares his favourite curry recipe based on traditional Indian spices, whole roasted butternut squash, chickpeas and spinach served on a bed of tumeric infused rice. If you’ve never tried a vegan curry before this is the one to make.

Find the complete recipe with ingredients and instructions at JamieOliver.com

My special optional tips for the more adventurous:

Since I do not use canned beans ever, instead I soak them and sometimes even sprout them.

SOAKING:

Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with cold water. The chickpeas will expand to over double their size, so make sure you cover by several inches of water to allow for expansion. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let them soak overnight. Drain the water and rinse the beans before cooking The soaking enhances the nutritional value of beans, as well as makes them more digestible.

You can also just immediately start cooking the chickpeas in boiling water while you prepare the rest of the recipe, adding them later on as instructed. This way they will cook longer than the canned equivalent and be fine. Timing: between 45 to 60 minutes, check them: if they are tender and soft inside, that’s it.

YOU CAN ALSO SOAK THE RICE

I usually eat whole, organic rice and the cooking time for that is quite long, 45 minutes. But if I soak the rice the cooking time is much less AND the nutrition values are increased.